Review: Bethlehem's Villa Vita offers top-notch pizza, pasta dishes

Villa Vita Brick Oven Pizza in Bethlehem.

(Chris Shipley/The Morning Call)

Caroline SaucerSpecial to The Morning Call

Pizza and pasta dishes are top-notch at Villa Vita

When you're hooked on a certain neighborhood pizzeria, it can be heartbreaking to see it close. But the story of El Greco's Brick Oven Pizza, which closed after 35 years of business on Stefko Boulevard in Bethlehem, has a happy ending.

In late July, El Greco's owner Anthony Tsamoutalidis and his father, Vasilios Tsamoutalidis, opened Villa Vita Brick Oven Pizza on Linden Street. It features the same brick-oven pizza — with almost two dozen varieties of pies — but it also offers the gamut of pasta dishes such as chicken with broccoli and shrimp with alfredo sauce. There's also room on Villa Vita's menu for some Greek fare, such as souvlaki, falafel sandwich and hummus with pita bread. But the pizza, which comes in six and eight-slice pies, takes center stage, with traditional toppings such as bacon, pepperoni and sausage, but also more adventurous Mexican and Greek pies.

Setting: The interior of Villa Vita, which seats about 24, is awash in a sunset-hued range of oranges and golds, from the tall maple tables that offer up most of the seating to the mottled yellow walls, bright orange doors and golden tile floors. Another rustic touch is the counter in the back, which is lined with bricks at the bottom and clay tiles on top like a mini villa roof. A painted mural under the tiles depicts an Italian village scene, whose businesses are named after Tsamoutalidis' sons' names.

On the recent Thursday a friend and I visited, a stream of customers picked up takeout from the counter, which also holds a few pizza slices as well as strombolis and calzones in a display case. The owner and other staff chatted with all comers. The ambience was warm and friendly and very much gave off a "neighborhood" feel. One customer, pizza box in hand, said he'd never been there before but planned on coming back. That warmth extended to the literal temperature — the door was propped open and on this warm fall evening, we felt the heat.

Entrees: Because we both wanted to sample the gamut of what Villa Vita does best, we opted to split the pizza and a pasta dish. The 14-inch bruschetta pie ($14.50) was a standout, with a fresh-tasting combination of crushed garlic, tomatoes, red onions, mozzarella and basil. It was a better version of a margarita pizza in that there were more sweet tomatoes chopped instead of just thin slices, and these tomatoes had a sweet, still in-season taste that dominated in the best way. The crust had that almost-crispy yet not-charred softness that I prefer.

Villa Vita Brick Oven Pizza opens in Bethlehem

Former El Greco's owner Anthony Tsamoutalidis joined forces with his father, Vasilios Tsamoutalidis, to open Villa Vita Brick Oven Pizza at 739 Linden St. in Bethlehem.

Former El Greco's owner Anthony Tsamoutalidis joined forces with his father, Vasilios Tsamoutalidis, to open Villa Vita Brick Oven Pizza at 739 Linden St. in Bethlehem.

For our pasta, we were briefly tempted by the chicken marsala but then laid our eyes on something neither of us have tried before — penne with vodka sauce and veal ($17). It was as rich as it sounds, with heaping bowls of penne, generously coated with a creamy sauce and topped with lightly breaded slices of veal. Not surprisingly, veal and vodka sauce was right up my alley, but I was glad I was splitting it because a little goes a long way. My friend's veal had a couple strings of gristle, but mine were tender and delicately flavored. The sauce had an addictive smoky quality, thanks to what seemed to be pieces of pancetta. It came with a quality side salad of romaine, tomato, olives and onion. The star was the dressing — a creamy balsamic that won over even my friend, who is balsamic-averse.

Dessert: My friend was equally impressed by the tiramisu ($4), which she declared the best she'd ever had. I wouldn't go that far, but it was good, with a generous square slice, moist from coffee liquor and topped with fresh chocolate that my friend said, "sure ain't Hershey's!" We got an even better meal ender when the owner brought us each a complimentary glass of his homemade wine. The red wine, made from three different grapes, had a buttery depth.

Service: Villa Vita is one of those places you can imagine having your own table, and where, like Cheers, everybody knows your name. The owner was very much a presence, asking us when we sat down if it was our first time and how we found about them. He checked to see how we were enjoying our food as well. Our server was friendly, and was good about bringing our shared pasta out in separate bowls and boxing up our copious leftovers.

Bottom line: Villa Vita is a little piece of neighborhood heaven. Dinner for two with dessert and tax was $37.75.

Caroline Saucer is a freelance restaurant reviewer. Saucer attempts to remain anonymous during restaurant visits. Restaurant reviews now run Wednesdays and Thursdays.